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3D Printing/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby. Tim is walking across a desert at night. He is holding a lantern. He comes to a cave and uses his lantern to read a note he is holding. TIM: Meet me at Miller's Cave after sundown. There will be a fun surprise and free Buffalo wings. From, Moby. Tim walks into the cave, holding his lantern before him. TIM: Hello? … Moby? There is a group of robots near the cave wall. Tim does not see them at first. Then he turns and his light illuminates them. He jumps in surprise. TIM: Ahh! He examines the robot closest to him. When he touches it, it falls over sideways. The robots are plastic replicas of Moby. MOBY: Beep. (echo) Tim hears Moby beep inside the cave. He follows the sound, walking through a crowd of several more Moby replicas. He finds Moby painting a white replica of himself in orange. There is a 3D printer behind Moby, against the cave wall. TIM: So, you got a 3D printer, huh? Moby stops painting and faces Tim. MOBY: Beep. TIM: And you brought me all the way down here just to show off your weird plastic army? MOBY: Beep. Moby gestures toward a nearby desktop computer screen. Tim goes over to the screen. TIM: Oh. Tim reads the screen. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, I keep hearing about 3D printing, but I don't know what it is. Can you tell me? From, Lucas. Tim holds the lantern up high as he speaks. TIM: Sure thing, Lucas. And it looks like Moby will be able to help me. MOBY: Beep. The two stand side by side, and Moby holds a white replica of Moby’s leg. TIM: Unless you live in, um... a cave, you've probably used a regular printer. A printer, next to a desktop computer, prints a flat image of Moby's face on paper. TIM: They print in two dimensions. Moby takes the image from the printer's tray, holds it up for the viewer to see and points at it with his other hand. TIM: 3D printing works on the same principle, just with an extra dimension. The image of Moby's face on the paper turns slightly and grows deeper. The image disappears and is replaced by a computer screen. A desktop computer screen faces the viewer. A 3D diagram, which looks like an outline of Moby's head, forms on the screen. TIM: You start with a 3D image on your computer. The camera zooms back to show a large 3D printer next to the desktop computer. An arrow indicates the route of the image from the screen to the printer. TIM: The image is sent to a 3D printer, where it's interpreted as a stack of thin slices. The slices are printed, one on top of the other. In the printer, a pile of slices that is similar to that of a stacked deck of cards assumes the shape of Moby's head. The camera zooms in on the printer and this new image. TIM: When it's done, you have a precise 3D model of your image. MOBY: Beep. An image shows a mechanical pen depositing liquid onto a sheet of paper. TIM: In most 3D printers, each slice is squirted out as a thin layer of liquid. The liquid hardens immediately, and the printing surface lowers. Another mechanical pen appears next to the first pen in the printer. The pens spin around in the printer, working together to create layers, or the slices, of the printed surface. These layers form the image of Moby's head. TIM: The process repeats over and over until—WHAMMO!—There's your object, made exactly to your specifications. The camera pulls back to show a spool of thick, orange cord next to the 3D printer. TIM: Most of these printers use a spool of plastic as their stock, or raw material. But the stock can be just about anything—from metal, to wax, to chocolate. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah. It does seem like magic, doesn't it? A different type of printer appears. It resembles a long, flat table with a long tube of material on the left and three shapes on it from left to right. The shapes are a rectangle, square, and rectangle. The center square is the printing surface, and it can move up and down. TIM: Another kind of printer starts out with a layer of powdered material. It's most commonly plastic, but it can also be metal or ceramic. A laser traces the shape of the first slice, heating the powder so it sticks together. The printing surface drops, more powder is rolled across it, and the process keeps repeating. The table fades away to show that there is a box filled with powder inside the table. Moby's hand appears from off-screen, reaches into the box of powder and removes a replica of Moby's head. There is a lot of powder left in the box. He lifts the head to his own face to examine it. His expression is uneasy. TIM: When it's done, all of the leftover powder can be used for the next job. The screen becomes blank. Layers, or slices, of print stack upon one another, forming another image of Moby's head. TIM: In any 3D printer, each layer is paper-thin. So the printing process can take a while. The screen splits. On the left side of the screen, a mechanical pen creates a round image on a print layer. On the right side, a mechanical pen creates a rectangular image on a print layer. TIM: It might take fifteen minutes to print out an extra button for your shirt, or a few hours to print a replacement case for your cellphone. Tim is holding his lantern and standing in the cave. Behind him are several statues of Moby. TIM: Each of these Moby statues probably took a few days. Which seems kind of like a waste of time. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Nothing. The two stand side-by-side facing the viewer. Moby looks unhappy. TIM: Anyway, there's a lot of excitement about the potential for 3D printing. An image shows a researcher in a lab coat, holding a mop. Next to him is a poster advertising "MOP-O! The self-cleaning ceiling mop." TIM: Inventors can now easily build working models of their ideas. An image shows a doctor standing in front of an X-ray display. He is holding a plastic joint in front of it. TIM: Doctors can print joint replacements, hearing aids, and other stuff that requires a custom fit. An image shows an astronaut in her space ship. Tools and equipment are floating weightlessly around her. She is smiling and holding a wrench. TIM: Astronauts in space can print equipment they need instead of waiting for shipments from Earth. But the biggest change might be in the way everyday goods are made. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Today, most products are mass-produced in factories. An image shows an assembly line, where small toy sharks are being made. TIM: People and robots assemble thousands of copies of the exact same item and then ship them to stores. An image shows boxed toy sharks on a store shelf. This is replaced by an image of a girl at a desk with a desktop computer and a 3D printer. She uses her printer to create and replace a missing or broken piece of the toy shark. TIM: In the future, if most people have their own 3D printers, they'll be able to make a lot of these products at home. All they'll need is raw material like plastic or metal, and a computer file for the item they want. MOBY: Beep. Moby rubs his hands together in excitement. TIM: Well, we're still quite a way off from that. For now, printers can't make complex objects with lots of moving parts. An image shows a daydreaming boy. There is a thought balloon above his head. His thought balloon contains a camera and a wristwatch. TIM: Like, you couldn't print a wristwatch or a camera. The boy snaps to attention and his thought balloon vanishes. He frowns as several small camera and wristwatch parts float above him. TIM: I mean, you might be able to print each part individually, but you'd still have to assemble it yourself. As the technology improves, though, it's sure to play a bigger and bigger role in how everyday objects are made. Tim turns to Moby and gestures toward the Moby replicas standing behind them. TIM: Speaking of which, what exactly do you intend to do with this army of yours? MOBY: Beep. Moby holds a remote control. He hits its button, and the cave wall opens to reveal a large map of the world. Ominous music plays, and Moby rubs his hands together in evil glee. Tim is eating a large container of Buffalo wings. TIM: OK. You realize these guys are just plastic, right? Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Engineering & Technology Transcripts